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• Mist Direction or How DAK Operations just slipped Joe Rohde a Mickey

  Jim Hill talks about "Expedition Everest" 's faltering effects. More importantly, WDW's long-standing tradition of bamboozling senior Disney officials whenever they come on property Read More... Posted Tuesday, May 27, 2008 12:00 AM | 20 Comments Filed under: Disney, theme park, Pixar, Walt Disney, attraction, John Lasseter, Michael Eisner, Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Dick Nunis, Joe Rohde, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, The Jungle Cruise, Expedition Everest : Legend of the Forbidden Mountain, Disney Legend, The Magic Kingdom, Disney Parks & Resorts, WDI, 10th anniversary, WDW, Expedition Everest, DAK, "Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain", Operations, Disney World, Disney / Pixar, effects, guests, attractions, shows, rides, ride, show, theme park attraction, Food Service, Chairman, Liberty Tree Tavern

• Toon Tuesday : Was John Lasseter stung by that mean caricature of him that appears in "Bee Movie" ?

  Did an awkward conversation between Jerry Seinfeld & John Lasseter at Vanity Fair's 2006 Oscar party actually lead to an unflattering joke being inserted into this DreamWorks Animation release ? Jim Hill shares the story that's making the rounds in Hollywood Read More... Posted Tuesday, April 29, 2008 12:00 AM | 32 Comments Filed under: Disney, John Lasseter, DreamWorks Animation, "A Bug's Life", "Toy Story", "Bee Movie", Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Disney / Pixar, animated feature, 2007, Disney Feature Animation, animated short, "Tin Toy", 2006

• Why the Imagineers are still tinker(toy)ing with "Toy Story Mania"

  Jim Hill brings you an update on this new DHS attraction. Which is still experiencing a few minor hiccups as it gets ready for next month's grand opening Read More... Posted Tuesday, April 22, 2008 12:00 AM | 24 Comments Filed under: Disney, Pixar, attraction, Imagineering, John Lasseter, Walt Disney World, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, WDI, WDW, Imagineer, Walt Disney Imagineering, 2008, Disney World, The Walt Disney World Resort, "Toy Story Mania", Disney / Pixar, ride, Imagineers

• Disney Consumer Products isn't getting its hopes up for "Up"

  Jim Hill takes a close look at the retail side of the Mouse House. In particular why Disney Consumer Products is now taking a much more pragmatic approach toward the licensing of Pixar's next few pictures Read More... Posted Tuesday, April 01, 2008 12:00 AM | 21 Comments Filed under: Disney, Pixar, toys, Disney Consumer Products, John Lasseter, Disney's California Adventure, "Cars", "Ratatouille", Brad Bird, Disney Store, Pixar Animation Studios, The Walt Disney Company, WDI, "WALL * E", DCA, 2008, 2009, Disney / Pixar, animated feature, Carsland, Pete Docter, 2006, retail chain , 2010, "Up"

• Tons of Toontown's secrets revealed in "Animation Magazine: 20 Year Collection"

  Jim Hill reviews this new coffee table table that commemorates the 20th anniversary of this very popular publication. Which includes some great behind-the-scenes stories from animation industry vets Read More... Posted Wednesday, January 09, 2008 12:00 AM | 2 Comments Filed under: animation, book, Disney, Walt Disney, John Lasseter, "Ratatouille", Walt Disney Animation Studios, coffee table book

• Animation fans prematurely shoot off their mouths about "Bolt"

  Jim Hill points out the parallels between what WDAS's next release is now going through and "Beauty & the Beast" & "The Lion King" 's troubled productions Read More... Posted Wednesday, January 02, 2008 12:00 AM | 18 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, movies, Pixar, DreamWorks, computer animation, John Lasseter, "Shrek", Walt Disney Pictures, "Beauty & the Beast", John Musker, "The Little Mermaid", "Ratatouille", Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, DreamWorks Animation, "Aladdin", Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Jeffrey Katzenberg, "Toy Story", WDAS, "The Lion King", "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", WDI, Ed Catmull, Walt Disney Imagineering, Walt Disney Studios, "Bolt", Academy Award, film, movie, 2008, animated feature, Richard Purdum , "Cranium Command", Kirk Wise, Gary Trousdale, award, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Disney Feature Animation, "Mulan", "The Emperor's New Groove", "Kingdom of the Sun", "Kiskaloo", blind men and the elephant, Indian fable, pre-release image, teaser poster, November 2008, Bolt the dog, Mittens the cat, Rhino the hamster, Chris Williams, "American Dog", Chris Sanders, quirkiness, Jan Pinkava, George Scribner, Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers, S Gross, lemons into lemonade, November 28

• The Pixar TV special you never got to see, "A Tin Toy Christmas"

  Jim Hill shares what he's learned about this abandoned project. Which (in a roundabout way) provided the inspiration for Pixar Animation Studios' first feature-length production, "Toy Story" Read More... Posted Friday, December 14, 2007 12:00 AM | 3 Comments Filed under: book, Disney, Pixar, John Lasseter, Disney Press, Pixar Animation Studios, "Toy Story", "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas", Tim Burton, Ed Catmull, Steve Jobs, Jack Skellington, movie, Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas", Walt Disney Feature Animation, SIGGRAPH, short, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, "Luxo Jr", "Red's Dream", "Tin Toy", "A Tin Toy Christmas", Joe Ranft, Peter Schneider, Pixar Image Computer, "Batman"

• Toon Tuesday: The story behind "The Pixar Story"

  Jim Hill chats with acclaimed filmmaker Leslie Iwerks about her new documentary. Which will be screening this evening at Hollywood's Egyptian Theater and will be followed by a panel discussion with Roy E. Disney Read More... Posted Tuesday, December 11, 2007 12:00 AM | 6 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Pixar, computer animation, CG, John Lasseter, Michael Eisner, Leslie Iwerks, Roy E. Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Emeryville, The Walt Disney Company, "Toy Story", Animation Research Library, Hollywood, "The Pixar Story", Ed Catmull, Steve Jobs, film, Pixar campus, Disney / Pixar, animated feature, holiday special, Walt Disney Feature Animation

• Monday Mouse Watch: Ariel meets her maker? Has Tinker Bell lost her voice?

  Jim Hill shares a few fun Disney-related items that have popped up in his inbox over the past few days. Including where you can find an early reference to Rapunzel in "Enchanted" Read More... Posted Monday, December 10, 2007 12:00 AM | 12 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, musical, John Lasseter, Disney Theatrical, "The Little Mermaid", Disney Fairies, "The Tinker Bell Movie", Walt Disney Animation Studios, Kevin Lima, Glen Keane, "Rapunzel", stagehands union, movie, stagehands, Disney in-joke

• A special "Where's WALL-E" edition of Why For?

  Jim Hill's back with even more answers to your Disney-related questions. This time around, Jim tries to put together a definitive list of where the in-jokes & self references in Pixar's feature films & shorts are located Read More... Posted Sunday, December 09, 2007 12:00 AM | 25 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Pixar, CG, John Lasseter, "Ratatouille", Brad Bird, "The Incredibles", "Finding Nemo", Pixar Animation Studios, Emeryville, "A Bug's Life", "Toy Story", "Toy Story 2", "Monsters Inc.", "WALL * E", DVD, film, movie, Disney / Pixar, animated feature, "The Adventures of Andre & Wally B", animated short, short, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, "Your Friend the Rat", "Plan B", "Luxo Jr", "Red's Dream", "For the Birds", "Boundin' ", "Lifted", "Jack-Jack Attack", "Geri's Game"

• "To Infinity and Beyond!" is an entertaining look back at Pixar's first two decades

  Jim Hill reviews Karen Paik's inspired (more importantly, inspiring) new history of Pixar Animation Studios. Which offers a lot of insight about how John Lasseter became the Big Kahuna of the CG world Read More... Posted Thursday, November 29, 2007 12:00 AM | 4 Comments Filed under: animation, book, Disney, movies, Pixar, computer animation, CG, John Lasseter, John Musker, "The Little Mermaid", "Cars", "Ratatouille", Leslie Iwerks, Brad Bird, "Aladdin", Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Ron Miller, "Toy Story", "Toy Story 2", WDAS, featurette, "Monsters Inc.", "The Pixar Story", "To Infinity and Beyond: The Story of Pixar Animation Studios", Karen Paik, Ed Catmull, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney Studios, film, movie, Mouse, Disney / Pixar, 2007, "Tis the season" , feature film , Chronicle Books, "The Art of Animation", Bob Thomas, cartoons, epiphany, coffee table book, hardcover, church, pew, gourd, sermon, pencil, pencil time, award, The Headless Horseman, "The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr Toad", station wagon, Casper the Friendly Ghost, California Institute of the Arts, CalArts, character animation, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Disney Feature Animation, calcified, middle management, "The Fox and the Hound", old guard, Tom Wilhite, Maurice Sendak, picture book, "Where the Wild Things Are", Thomas M Disch, "The Brave Little Toaster", Marin, Lucasfilm, "The Adventures of Andre & Wally B", SIGGRAPH, animated short, short, character comedy, cutting-edge technology, money pit, Jane Eisner, Roald Dahl, "James and the Giant Peach", human costs, keyboard, repetitive-stress injury, "The Art of Ratatouille", aspiring animator, holiday shopping list

• A special "Toon Much of a Good Thing" edition of Why For

  Jim Hill's back with even more answers to your Disney-related questions. This time around, Jim talks about why Walt Disney Home Entertainment stopped producing 2-disc versions of those new Disney / Pixar DVDs as well as revealing that Walt Disney Animation Studios may already have a second traditionally animated feature in the works Read More... Posted Friday, November 02, 2007 12:00 AM | 30 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, DVD / Video, theme park, Pixar, traditional animation, computer animation, CG, John Lasseter, Walt Disney Pictures, Disney-MGM Studios theme park, Robert Zemeckis, Ron Clements, John Musker, "The Princess and the Frog", "Cars", "Ratatouille", Brad Bird, "Enchanted", Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney's Hollywood , Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, Walt Disney Animation Studios, "The Incredibles", Pixar Animation Studios, Russia, WDAS, Burbank, "WALL * E", WDW, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Home Entertainment, WDSHE, WDHE, Disney Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray, "The Magic of Disney Animation", Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida, "How to Hook-Up Your Home Theater", "Prep and Landing", "The Ballad of Nessie", Loch Ness, "Glago's Guest", close encounter of the third kind, Walden Media, "A Conversation with Disney's Mark Zoradi", Heartland Film Festival, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group, Mark Zoradi, "Bolt", Glen Keane, "Rapunzel", "A Christmas Carol", Dean Wellins, ImageMoversDigital, "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian", DVD

• Monday Mouse Watch: Will live action productions really help Pixar deal with its brand fatigue problem?

  Jim Hill asks: What's it going to take to make the domestic release of a new Pixar film seem like a special event again? Will live action projects like "John Carter of Mars" & "1906" really be enough to re-energize this animation studio's U.S. fanbase? Read More... Posted Monday, October 15, 2007 12:00 AM | 51 Comments Filed under: Disney, Pixar, John Lasseter, Bob Iger, promotion, "Cars", "Ratatouille", Leslie Iwerks, Brad Bird, Walt Disney Animation Studios, "The Incredibles", Pixar Animation Studios, Emeryville, marketing, "Toy Story 2", "20000 Leagues Under the Sea", WDAS, "The Lion King", Burbank, Mars, brand fatigue, "Song of the South", Herald Sun, "Monsters Inc.", Wally Hammond, Time Out, Time Out London, "The Pixar Story", "To Infinity and Beyond: The Story of Pixar Animation Studios", Karen Paik, Ed Catmull, Steve Jobs, "WALL * E", IMAX 3D, "John Carter of Mars", Barsoom, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, San Francisco

• "Why must you always be so negative when you write about Pixar?"

  Jim Hill takes a moment to answer his critics. Particularly those folks who have grown tired of the JHM articles that touch on the $7.4 billion that the Walt Disney Company spent to acquire Pixar Animation Studios Read More... Posted Tuesday, July 17, 2007 12:00 AM | 75 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, DVD / Video, Pixar, Disney Consumer Products, CG, John Lasseter, Bob Iger, Walt Disney Pictures, Michael Eisner, Buena Vista Home Entertainment

• Monday Mouse Watch : Disney says it's far too early to write off "Ratatouille"

  Jim Hill talks with Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Walt Disney Studios. Who says that the real test for this new Pixar production comes in the coming week. When we see how well tickets sell for Brad Bird's latest over the extended Fourth of July holiday Read More... Posted Monday, July 02, 2007 12:00 AM | 96 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, movies, Pixar, computer animation, CG, John Lasseter, Walt Disney Pictures